Beyond the Assessment:
A Vision for Supporting Adolescent Readers

In an effort to support teachers in helping all students achieve their potential as literate citizens, Jordan School District invested in an assessment tool created by Scholastic, Inc. Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) is only part of the vision that includes teaching all students eight essential reading comprehension strategies; reinforcing those strategies across the curriculum; and differentiating instruction to meet needs of all readers.

Assessing all students’ reading comprehension levels.  Using SRI, all secondary students should be assessed three times a year to measure their reading comprehension levels and to monitor their progress. Additionally, students’ Lexile measurements will be available to all teachers through Skyward. This information will help math, social studies, science teachers, etc. to identify those students who may struggle in comprehending text books or other classroom materials.

Eight essential comprehension strategies. After conducting the initial assessment, language arts teachers will introduce the following reading comprehension strategies: activate and build background knowledge; predict; make inferences; question; monitor understanding; visualize; determine importance; and summarize.. A number of researchers have identified these eight as among the most useful strategies. Using a “gradual release” teaching model, teachers hope to see students adopt these strategies as habits of effective reading.

Comprehension strategies across the curriculum. By reinforcing the eight comprehension strategies in all classes, teachers will support all students in better understanding curriculum content. Using these strategies helps readers comprehend difficult text, especially if they are used habitually. The eight essential strategies will be publicized, taught and incorporated into school cultures much like the 6 Traits of Writing have been.

Differentiating instruction to meet needs of all readers. Knowing Lexile levels of students means that teachers can see which students need more support and which ones need more challenge. The data, therefore, guides instruction, and that means instruction can be differentiated through group/re-group activities; tiered or layered instruction.